Vietnamese national Bao Ngo. & Ambassador Le Hong Phan.
By Azmat Haroon
Doha: Despite Qatar trying to woo labourers from Vietnam, many Vietnamese workers are not willing to come here to take up jobs because of what they say are low salaries and lifestyle challenges they find hard to adapt.
The average salary of Vietnamese labourers in Qatar is between QR1,000 and QR1,500, according to some, which is less than what most of them are paid in southeast Asian countries such as Japan, North Korea and Malaysia.
“The average basic salary of skilled and semi-skilled workers is higher in South Asian countries compared with Qatar. Here, we find disparity in salaries of people in same jobs in different companies,” a Vietnamese embassy official told The Peninsula.
There are an estimated 500 Vietnamese in Qatar, a majority of whom work as mechanics and in the construction industry.
Asked why the Vietnamese community in Qatar was so small despite efforts to recruit them, Ambassador Le Hong Phan said the salary here is not ‘attractive’ enough for many of them.
He said the embassy is negotiating with many local companies to recruit more workers from Vietnam.
A Dutch company here has shown better working prospects for many Vietnamese compared with other companies.
“Most Vietnamese labourers started coming to Qatar in 2005 and their number has been increasing ever since,” Phan said, adding that Vietnamese were generally regarded highly in the steel industry.
Cultural differences were also cited as a major challenge for many from Vietnam who tend to choose against working in the Gulf.
One community member said even if Vietnamese labourers get higher salaries in Qatar, they prefer not to come here because of the living conditions in most labour camps.
He said his countrymen are community-oriented people who enjoy freedom to move and mingle with others.
“Here, many are huddled together with men from different nationalities in labour camps. That’s a very challenging environment for them,” Bao Ngo, a Vietnamese, said, talking about challenges faced by many who leave their families behind.
He said the cost of visa and air ticket also discouraged many Vietnamese labourers from moving to Gulf countries, including Qatar.
“For many of them it doesn’t make sense to come so far from their homes when salaries are not very different from what they are being paid in neighbouring countries.”
Ngo said differences in weather and food also made Vietnamese feel alienated here.
“Most cooks here are from India, and we generally find it difficult to adopt to Indian food,” he added. The Peninsula
